Bryan Macmahon Biography

Irish short-story writer, novelist, and playwright, born in the literary town of Listowel, Co. Kerry, which was also the birthplace of George Fitzmaurice, John B. Keane, and Maurice Walsh. He was educated at St Patrick's Teacher Training College, Dublin. During the Second World War he worked in factories in England, an experience he used to write about in his ‘Plain People of England’ column for The Bell magazine. McMahon then turned his hand to poetry, fiction, balladeering, translation, scripts for radio and television, and books for children. His first collection of short stories, The Lion-Tamer (1948), predicted his ascendancy as one of the few masters of the Irish short story to emerge in the wake of Frank O'Connor and Sean O'Faolain. Other collections include The Red Petticoat (1955). The Honey Spike (1967), generally regarded as his most accomplished novel, was adapted for the stage and performed at the Abbey Theatre.